EU, US cheer Ukraine election reforms

In “diplomatic stereo”, the EU and the US have welcomed the
Ukrainian parliament’s overwhelming approval of a compromise
package of legal amendments that holds out the prospect of a smooth
run-off vote on 26 December.

The EU and the US have both welcomed the historic vote in
Ukraine’s parliament on 8 December, in which lawmakers approved key
amendments transferring powers from the president to parliament and
introducing changes to the crisis-ridden country’s electoral law.
The reform package was passed by 402 votes in favour, 21 against
and 19 abstentions.

Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who actively backed the
package, immediately signed it into law. Reacting to the news,
opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko called it a “great victory” and
said that “we have created a brand new European nation”. Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich, whose victory in the original vote was
subsequently annulled, called the vote a “soft coup d’etat” and
added that “chaos reign and decisions are only taken by force”.

Following his third consecutive trip to Kiev since the
crisis broke out in the wake of the disputed 21 November elections,
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that the parliament’s
decision “should pave the way for a free and fair re-run of
elections in Ukraine on 26 December”. He added that he was “very,
very happy”. 

Powell also hailed the decision by stating that “Ukrainians are
coming together to find a solution to this problem and we all stand
by to help”. He referred to the stances of the EU and the US as
constituting a “diplomatic stereo, and that stereo sound makes a
difference”. The speaker of Russia’s parliament, Boris
Gryzlov, however, was quoted as commenting that “I hope the [26
December] election will not break the state’s unity – only a
Yanukovich victory can keep Ukraine united”. There was no immediate
statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The developments in Ukraine are set to feature high on the
agenda of the 9 December meeting in Brussels between visiting US
Secretary of State Colin Powell and foreign ministers of the NATO
alliance.

Read more with Euractiv

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